AN INITIATIVE OF CRAFT REVIVAL TRUST.  Since 1999
Baul Singers of West Bengal

Musical Instruments, Sound Objects

Baul Singers of West Bengal

Baul singers are a sect of minstrels living in the rural areas of West Bengal and Bangladesh. They believe in achieving spiritual liberation through their music and poetry. Bauls keep on travelling from place to place to earn a living through their oral tradition and refuse the conventional ideology of life. Their music is about love, longing for mystic union with the divine or man’s relationship with god and reflects the influence of the Hindu Bhakti movement and Sufism of Islam. They wear very simple cotton clothes and are accompanied with their instruments like ektara (single stringed instrument), dotara (two to five-stringed instrument) or duggi (a drum with a kettle drum shape). The exact origin of the Bauls are not known, but it is derived from a Sanskrit words ‘vatula’ (eccentric, crazy) or from ‘vyakula’ (impatiently eager), which can be clearly seen in their carefree lifestyle.
In 2005, Baul tradition was included in UNESCO’s list of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

Gallery

YOUR VIEWS

PRACTITIONERS: INDIA

Access 70,000+ practitioners in 2500+ crafts across India.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

10,000+ listings on arts, crafts, design, heritage, culture etc.

GLOSSARY

Rich and often unfamiliar vocabulary of crafts and textiles.

SHOP at India InCH

Needs to be written.